Blackhawks put positive spin on playoffs on road

Obviously, they would prefer home-ice advantage in postseason but they believe team unity can overcome drawbacks

April 08, 2014|By Chris Kuc, Chicago Tribune reporter

After the Blackhawks close out the home portion of their schedule Wednesday night against the Canadiens, they will hit the road for the final two games of the regular season.

With the way the Central Division standings figure to pan out, the Hawks will remain away from the United Center for the first two games of the playoffs — with the Avalanche in Denver the likely opponent and destination.

As important as home-ice advantage is during the postseason, if the Hawks fail to finish second in the division, it wouldn't be a death knell in their quest for a second consecutive Stanley Cup.

While acknowledging he would prefer to start at home, winger Patrick Sharp said the Hawks are OK with going on the road.

"It's comfortable for us," he said after practice Tuesday. "We've had success and whenever you've had success you always can fall back on that."

During the Hawks' run to the 2010 Cup, they were a sparkling 8-3 on the road, including the Game 6 clincher against the Flyers in Philadelphia. When they captured their second title in four years in '13, the Hawks were 5-5 away from home and again celebrated in hostile territory after prevailing in Game 6 in Boston.

"We're going to control what we can with taking care of our games," winger Brandon Saad said. "If we're playing on the road it's not like we're going to think we're out of it or at a disadvantage. We're ready for the challenge regardless."

In recent postseasons, the Hawks have had the ability to circle the wagons on the road. They are familiar with each other because of a solid core group that has remained in place and share a camaraderie that extends to the ice.

"There's nothing like hanging out with your buddies and teammates 24/7," forward Andrew Shaw said. "The guys like being together and that helps create chemistry on the ice.

"We're looking forward to it (the road). We get a players' lounge at every hotel we go to. It's nice; you don't just sit in your room, you can go down there and hang out and play cards and just have some good food and play a bunch of Mario Kart."

That postseason tradition of setting up a lounge has resulted in relaxed players focused on the task at hand, away from so-called real-life challenges that often come while playing at home.

"It's always tough to go into someone else's building and try to steal a win," Shaw said. "We always come out in the first period with a lot of energy and grit in our game. That's what has made us so successful. As a unit, our team has kind of figured it out. We get on each other and push each other to get the legs going pretty early."

Sharp said the mindset of being road warriors has been a work in progress over the last seven years.

"I think of … those circus trips back in (Patrick) Kane's and (Jonathan) Toews' early years," Sharp said of the duo that broke into the league during the 2007-08 season. "We were a young group, we enjoyed being together, we enjoyed being in the hotel and on the plane and enjoyed the environment of being on the road."